


Lost (and Found)

by RuReadytoSing



Series: 365 day challenge [13]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Third Years AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-03 12:19:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8713699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RuReadytoSing/pseuds/RuReadytoSing
Summary: Ennoshita is reminded that he isn't alone in shouldering the responsibilities of being captain of the national-bound team.





	

“I-I’m sor-”

“Chikaraaa~!” Kinoshita and Narita screamed, running toward the captain. He struggled to stand and lift his gaze away from the Championship volleyball court as the weight of guilt held him down.

His best friends crashed into him, hugging both sides. He somehow lifted his arms up enough to wrap them around their shoulders. 

“I’m sorry...” he gasped out, holding back tears. 

“It’s not your fault. You did great.”

“You worked harder than anyone, Chikara.”

He knew what they said were true, but their words were empty encouragement during his moment of despair.

His friends shifted slightly, allowing him a glance at his other teammates who had been on the court with him. 

Their expressions... he knew they were going to haunt him forever. Especially Tanaka’s... his face was petrified in one of shock and denial. His right arm was still outstretched; ready to receive a ball that had already hit the ground. 

“I’m sorry!” Ennoshita shouted, struggling to get up. 

The two third years took a step back, their hands outstretched to make sure their captain wouldn’t fall. When he was finally able to stand and take a step towards his fallen teammates, he had to hold back a cry of pain as he fell backwards. However, before he could hit the ground, strong arms caught him and gently lowered him so that he sat on someone’s legs. 

“Is it your right ankle?” Tanaka asked from behind him. The wing-spiker’s eyes still looked hazy, but there was a hint of worry in them. 

Ennoshita wordlessly nodded, biting down on his lip.  _ Augh, shit. If only I hadn’t- _

“Get lined up!” Coach Ukai’s strained voice was heard over the cheering of the crowd. The captain watched as his other teammates sluggishly stood up, making their way to the volleyball net. Tanaka helped him stand up and walk to his teammates’ side. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, is Ennoshita okay?” a shaven-headed boy asked his best bro. 

“Yeah! Oh wait, did he fall asleep?” the smaller boy peeked into his captain’s face and smiled. “He’s been overworking himself again. We should let him sleep.” 

“I’m sorry...” the sleeping captain whispered in his sleep. He was about to turn over and fall off the bench, but his two friends caught him. Ennoshita seemed to curl into himself, whispering apologies over and over again. 

“Hey, where’s-” Kinoshita was cut off by Tanaka and Noya putting a finger to their lips. “I’ll stay here until he wakes up, so you guys can head out,” Tanaka whispered, motioning for the other three to leave things up to him. 

“Take good care of him!” Noya whisper-shouted, giving his best friend a thumbs up. Tanaka returned the gesture then looked back down at his sleeping captain. 

“He still looks so tense...” He whispered, taking a seat next to Ennoshita’s head. His hand unconsciously found its way to the brunette’s hair, stroking it softly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“I’m sorry.” Captain and Vice Captain whispered at the same time. Their heads lifted and their eyes met. They gave each other a sheepish smile before Tanaka lowered his gaze. They were now alone in the locker room, both afraid of going back on the bus with everyone. 

“It’s not your fault!” the captain shouted first, grabbing both of Tanaka’s shoulders tightly. He forced the shaven-headed boy to look him in the eyes, giving him a determined glare. “If you ever even think it’s your fault, I’m going to make you run around the school grounds ten times!” 

Tanaka smiled at his friend’s odd way of reassurance, replying, “You better not think it’s your fault either then. You-”

“But I’m the one who overworked myself and sprained my ankle...” he trailed off, unsure of what else to say. 

“I’m the one who didn’t notice until it was too late. I’m the one who-”

“Helped me during my darkest times. You always know what to say for me to regain my confidence.”

“But-”

“No buts. It’s not your fault.”

“Then it’s not your fault either,” Tanaka stated, taking on an uncharacteristically serious tone. He gave Ennoshita a hard stare, grabbing both of his shoulders. “We’ll shoulder this burden together.” 

“Yeah,” the captain answered, his voice regaining some strength. “Together.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ennoshita’s eyes slowly opened and the first thing he felt was the slim fingers gently carding through his hair. “Mmm,” he groaned, still half asleep. 

“Chikara, you awake?” 

The captain shot up when he heard Tanaka’s voice, his face taking on a horrified look. He quickly composed himself before turning to the Vice Captain, but he could tell Tanaka had already seen his scared expression. 

“You okay? You kept apologizing in your sleep,” Tanaka stated, grabbing Ennoshita’s right shoulder. “I might not seem as reliable, especially compared to you, but if you have any-”

“I’m never gonna sprain my ankle!” Ennoshita shouted, surprising the shaven-headed boy to silence. “I’m not gonna burden the team with something like that!” 

“Did you have a nightmare about spraining your ankle?” Tanaka asked after he recovered from the shock. 

“Worse,” the brunette answered, refusing to go into more detail. “Tanaka,” he stated, shifting his gaze to his best friend’s eyes. Tanaka looked confused, but he returned his gaze, silently nodding for him to continue. “If I ever look like I’m about to overwork myself, I want you to stop me. No matter what.” 

“Wha?”

“Please,” Ennoshita whispered. Tanaka could hear the raw desperation in his voice. 

“I promise!” the Vice Captain shouted, grinning at the boy in front of him. “I already promised Noya I’d take good care of you!” 

The brunette blushed, hiding his face in both hands. Tanaka gently pulled his hands away, revealing his strawberry red face. “You okay now?” the Vice Captain asked.

“When was I not okay? Shoot, how long have I been asleep?!” 

“About an hour.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?!”

“You looked super tired so I didn’t want to. You feel better now, right?” 

“Yeah. I’m fine.” 

Tanaka grinned in reply, swooping in to kiss Ennoshita’s forehead. 

“What the hell, Ryuu-”

“I’m pretending to be your girlfriend. Just go along with it.”

“Seeing you play both the girl and boy roles of receiving a present was bad enough.”

“Hey! You know you liked it!”

_ Hell yeah, I did. ...Oh shit, did I really just think that? _ Ennoshita started laughing softly. After a few seconds, Tanaka joined in with his loud, rumbling laugh. The brunette laughed harder at his friend’s ridiculous laugh. “Ahaha~ I haven’t laughed this hard in so long!” he gasped out between his laughs. 

“Yeah,” Tanaka answered, smirking. “You’ve been more uptight than usual this past week. You need to laugh more, even if you are a dad.” 

“Hey, I’m not a dad. Wait but... does that make you the mom?” Ennoshita clutched his stomach as he went into another bout of laughter. “Sorry, I’m totally okay with you being the mom, but saying it out loud sounds so weird.”

“No wait! You’re actually the mom!”

“Hey, you can’t change our roles just because you don’t want to be the mom!” 

“Hinata accidentally called you ‘mom’ last week! And Kageyama, too,” Tanaka argued. 

Ennoshita tried to think of a rebuttal, but he couldn’t think of one. A victorious smirk bloomed on Tanaka’s face and he snickered. 

“Don’t think this argument is over yet. Who knows, Yuu might actually be the true mom of our team. Actually, Hisashi and Kazu are getting along really well with the first years, so maybe they’re the-”

“We’re all team parents!” Tanaka interrupted, beaming at Ennoshita. “We need all the help we can get to take care of our rambunctious family!” 

“Says the loudest of them all.”

“Hey!” 

Ennoshita could feel warmth spreading throughout his body. Although he held a lot of responsibility being the head of the family, he would never give up his position. He loved all his teammates and wanted to help them improve. 

“Woohoo! Time to get some nikuman!!!” Tanaka yelled, jumping off the bench. “C’mon, Chikara, they’re going to run out before we get there!” 

The captain chuckled in reply, slinging his bag over his shoulder.  _ Yeah. I’m never going to give this up.  _

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!! or any of the characters. Thank you so much for reading!!! ^o^


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